The Survey Research Center has specific expertise in public health and medical survey research. Because the unit is based in Brown University’s School of Public Health, we are unique relative to many other academic survey research organizations across the U.S. that are primarily housed in departments such as public policy, political science, or sociology. We will collaborate with you to facilitate your health- and social service-related survey research.

The Survey Research Center has valuable experience interviewing many study populations of interest. Our professional interviewers, including bilingual interviewers have experience interviewing children, adolescents, adults, seniors, including members of multiple cultural and ethnic groups. Additionally, we have experience recruiting and interviewing professionals, including those in the medical, public health, and social service occupations. Our in-person interviews have been conducted in a variety of locations such as participants’ homes, health care settings, and community-based locations.

The Survey Research Center will work with each research partner to provide the level of survey design support to meet your needs, whether it is comprehensive survey design or simply data collection methods. We collaborate with you on decisions related to differences in procedures and risks of error related to various types of surveys, while optimizing response rates and reducing respondent burden. We have the knowledge and expertise to ensure your project meets the data collection standards required by government or academic research.

The Survey Research Center will work collaboratively with you on your project’s budgetary needs, whether pre-award for grants and contracts involving surveys, or research design and data collection methods based on available post-award budgets. Because of the individual nature of survey projects, we create custom proposals specifically designed to meet the needs of the client. Costs for services are calculated on a case-by-case basis.

The Survey Research Center is dedicated to conducting high-quality survey research and following best practices for data excellence and integrity as endorsed by the American Association of Public Research (AAPOR) and Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations (AASRO). We work with you to create and implement the highest quality research design and data collection methods for your project. We are committed to quality throughout all aspects of your survey, from the staff members chosen to work on your project, to the processes for checking the final products.

Our professional interviewers are trained until they consistently reach established reliability criteria for each procedure. Approximately 10% of each interviewer’s ongoing interviews are recorded with participant permission) and routinely reviewed by a supervisor to ensure adherence to the protocol. Detailed feedback regarding these interviews is provided promptly through use of a semi-structured fidelity checklist. In our call center, your data are collected using software that allows automatic question branching to reduce interviewer error, provides quick turnaround of survey results, and checks data while interviews are in progress.